Press Release

The Hi-Lo Food Stores is expecting that a partnership with the Boys' Town Vocational Training Centre will bolster social and academic development as they engage the services of students enrolled in the hospitality programme.

In keeping with their promise of delivering a world-class customer experience, the food store has launched its Taste of the World campaign for the second year. Taste of the World features live cooking demonstrations and sampling of easy-to-prepare meals with international flavours.

"The Hi-Lo brand is one that actively supports all things Jamaican that are aligned with Hi-Lo's core objectives. Taste of the World shows our consumers how they can use local ingredients to create meals influenced by international cuisine whilst complementing our store brand," explained Patrique Goodall, marketing officer for Hi-Lo Food Stores.

PROVIDING EXPERIENCE

"By involving the HEART trainees from Boys' Town in this activity, we are providing them with culinary and customer service experience to help them to establish themselves in the retail and food industries. Boys' Town has produced excellent certified trainees who have gone on to work in the local and overseas hospitality sector, and we are so pleased to have them be an integral part of Taste of the World."

Stacy-Ann Williams-Gayle, acting head of section at the Boys' Town Vocational Training Centre, shared a similar enthusiasm for Taste of the World.

"We were pleased to come on board for Hi-Lo Food Stores' Taste of the World. It was an excellent opportunity for some of our trainees to develop their culinary skills by trying their hand at different recipes," she noted.

"They also got the chance to learn how to interact with customers, which helps to improve service delivery. We are excited to be part of this programme and look forward to strengthening the partnership."

Hi-Lo supermarket will be developing an online shopping platform, which it plans to roll out next year.

Groceries ordered and paid for through the platform will be delivered to households, at additional cost, says General Manager of Hi-Lo Food Stores Renee Nathan.

For the GraceKennedy-owned grocery chain, which is currently spending $1 billion on upgrading key stores, the new shopping mode allows it to increase its market reach beyond Jamaica.

"The platform will also enable customers overseas to shop and have products delivered to their loved ones," Nathan said on Friday.

As to the infrastructure to be developed around the e-commerce initiative, including inventory management, deliveries, and customer support, Nathan said that the project was a work in progress and that the details, including the investment to be made, were to be finalised.

The supermarket chain will be working with different partners to service its customers.

"We are still developing our plans, but many of these functions will be outsourced," she said while citing grocery deliveries to customers as one of those areas in which Hi-Lo would be working with a third party. "There will be a charge for the added convenience of delivery," she added.

Hi-Lo operates 13 stores across Jamaica, which the company is currently modernising. On Thursday, Hi-Lo unveiled its renovated Portmore store, a 24,000 square-foot operation, that includes expanded product offerings, a dine-in deli, a bakery and a juice bar, and a branch of First Global Bank.

Hi-Lo Portmore is the fifth in the chain to undergo a facelift since 2015. GraceKennedy has spent US$5 million to date on the project. Its next target is the Cross Roads store in Kingston next year, followed by Spanish Town, St Catherine.

Nathan said that the e-commerce initiative is not meant to be a substitute for the physical stores.

"We see online as a complement to existing brick-and-mortar locations, and, as such, we plan to continue to grow in both spaces," she said.

"We expect for this new platform to become increasingly significant to our business over time as our customers' lives become more hectic and they seek convenient ways to shop," the Hi-Lo GM said even while declining to comment on the amount of revenue generated by the chain overall.